Airport
by Soul Raider 116
Summary: Oneshot: Years have passed since Kadic. After defeating X.A.N.A, life moved on. Despite some things changing, the Lyoko warriors still remained friends; even if it was from a distance in the case of some. Now Odd is returning to France for Ulrich and Yumi's wedding, but at the airport, a surprise awaits him.


**Summary:** Oneshot: Years have passed since Kadic. After defeating X.A.N.A, life moved on. Despite some things changing, the Lyoko warriors still remained friends; even if it was from a distance in the case of some. Now Odd is returning to France for Ulrich and Yumi's wedding, but at the airport, a surprise awaits him.

A/N: This was one of those thoughts that hit me while in the half awake state. Meaning, I was just waking in the morning, and it was the lingering remnants of a weird dream. That's what I get for reading Oddissy stuff right before bed...I don't know if future fics are very popular in this fandom, but I thought I'd give it a go! It's been a very long time since I saw anything Lyoko, though. So it may be inaccurate, sorry. Also, I'm not including anything from CLE, because I haven't had any experience with that.

**Disclaimer:** As per usual, I don't own the characters or Code Lyoko. I woudl definitely explore Oddissy in canon if I owned them though. I mean, I adore the "I love you but I hate you" dynamic their relationship gives off, even if it isn't official and is just fuelled by fans like me!

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><p><strong>Airport<strong>

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><p>Odd pulled his suitcase behind him, the wheels that supported it gliding easily along the airport floor. It had been a long time since he'd last been to France, not since graduating High School. X.A.N.A. was long gone, and apparently having friends in the country wasn't enough of an excuse for his parents to let him live there, supportive though they might have been they wanted more reason than that, and he'd had nothing else to give them.<p>

Ulrich, Yumi, Jeremie and Aelita had gone on to do the college thing; his former roommate and the oriental girl choosing one school, and the nerd and nerdette taking to a more prestigious school for technological studies. As for the more carefree member of their group, well, he'd had enough of structured learning by that point, and really wanted to do his own thing for a while. College didn't seem to appeal, despite his parents urging him to find a good art institute or music school. In Odd's opinion, you couldn't really be taught those things, either you knew them or you didn't once you learned the basics, and he had the basics down and knew how to do the rest for the most part.

So, he'd spent some time dabbling in writing pop and rock music, the kind of stuff that was easy to dance to. When he had enough stuff composed, he tried to put together a band, but no one he met had the right chemistry to make the sound work. It was disappointing, since he thought the excitement of touring with a rock group might be just what he needed to fill the boredom that had taken over his life since X.A.N.A. had been defeated. He even considered the possibility of the band wearing costumes of some sort, his having a punkish-style cat-esque theme to it. But without a band, it was all moot.

He missed his friends, though he exchanged constant emails, IMs and texts with them. Kiwi had passed away years ago...who knew that Italian Greyhounds weren't meant to get so fat? He terribly missed the mangy dog. He really missed the excitement that Lyoko brought. Heck, he even missed his verbal sparring matches with one Sissi Delmas. Sure, she could be a pain, but it was fun getting her riled up. He smirked slightly at the thought, mismatched eyes glinting behind his sunglasses in amusement.

So, here he was, approximately four years later. It wasn't a surprise when he had received the wedding invitation months ago, Ulrich hadn't even waited a week after High School before asking Yumi to marry him, which she agreed to only if he waited until after college to actually hold the wedding. Now those two, at least, had graduated, so it was time. Jeremie and Aelita had more schooling to go for their degrees, and to the best of Odd's knowledge the boy genius hadn't even asked the pink haired nerdette to marry him yet. Knowing Einstein, he somehow managed to still find room for doubt as to what her answer would be. For a genius, the boy was dense sometimes.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Odd unlocked the screen and pulled up the messages he'd been exchanging with Ulrich. They'd been discussing the Italian's travel plans, and the last text sent out had been to inform his best friend that he was boarding the plane and give an estimated time of arrival so that someone could pick him up. Sometime while his phone had been in airplane mode, the response had arrived. 'gr8. c u soon, have surprise 4 u at airport'

A blond brow raised at the strange message. What surprise? His nimble thumbs danced across the touchscreen as he typed out his reply. 'k. here now. wat srprise'

A few moments later a ding sounded to let him know that Ulrich had answered, once more he glanced toward the phone. 'not tellin. go to cafe in terminal'

This earned a blink of confusion, followed by a sigh. Four years away, and now his best friend was playing guessing games with him as soon as he got back! They used to joke sometimes, but he never knew Ulrich Stern to be so...playful. With a roll of his eyes and a tug on the knit cap that covered his head, the boy pulled his luggage further into the airport in search of the cafe. After locating it and making his way in, he froze on the spot. Sitting near the back was a female with long dark hair and pale skin who stared into a cappuccino. Her style of dress had toned down some, sure, and she had physically matured a bit, but there was no mistaking the presence of Sissi Delmas.

The boy pulled his cap further over his head, concealing his blond locks, which had been cut considerably shorter than they used to be and left with a small purple tuft near the front that for some reason he didn't want to give away his identity. He also adjusted his sunglasses, making certain that his mismatched eyes were safely hidden.

He'd not spoken to the girl, now a woman, since he left four years earlier. Often he'd wondered what she might be up to, if she still pursued her pointless crush on Ulrich or if perhaps she'd caved and noticed her minion Herve's crush on her. Mere curiosity of course, nothing more. It seemed strange she'd show up at the airport at the same time he was arriving, somehow like the hand of fate had pushed them together for a brief chance meeting. He knew he should find Ulrich, demand to know what game this surprise was part of. But a short stop to catch up with his old sparring partner couldn't hurt too much, right?

Even as the thoughts presented themselves, he was weaving his way through the cafe, luggage trailing behind him, until he came to a stop in front of her table. She didn't seem to notice him right away, so he cleared his throat to catch her attention, "Uh...hey. What are you up to?"

Sissi looked up at that, her perfectly groomed brow arching in curiosity as she gave him a once over, "Is that some kind of lame attempt at a pick up line? I'm waiting for someone, so forget it…"

"At the airport?" His brow furrowed in thought. This was a strange place for a date, and she seemed a bit down to be meeting someone for that purpose.

"Yes, not that it's your business! I'm here to pick someone up for a...a friend." Her dark eyes flicked to the side at the last hesitant phrase.

What was that all about? This person she was picking up...was it a guy she liked who was dating a friend...or a girl who was here to see a guy she liked? Those were the most likely explanations, "Oh yeah? Doesn't seem like a favor you're eager to do…"

At this point he slipped into the seat across from her, folding his arms on the table as he watched her from behind the tint of his glasses. The girl...woman...eyed him suspiciously, "You sure are nosey...but it's because of the reason he's in town, I guess...my...friend….is getting married. And this guy's his best man...and even if it was a long time ago, everyone knows I used to be in love with the groom, but they had the gall to not only invite me to the wedding, but make me their errand girl!"

It was as Sissi was spilling her guts that is finally dawned on Odd that she didn't realize she was speaking to someone she knew, let alone him. Then, the last part of what she said finally registered in his mind and his eyes widened behind his glasses. She was here to pick him up? They sent Sissi to give him a ride? Why would they…? His arms withdrew from the table, and as discreetly as possible he dug out his phone and began to text Ulrich again, two quick taps on the screen was all it took to convey his meaning. '?!'

The silence irritated Sissi, a moment ago she couldn't shut this strange guy up about her personal affairs. And now he was ignoring her for his phone, she wasn't stupid enough not to notice, especially when the device sounded a text arriving.

'guess that means u found the surprise. she still mad' Odd blinked as he continued trying to be subtle, looking at the message under his shades. He knew she'd heard it arriving, and could almost feel the agitation rolling off of her. So he sent a quick response in the affirmative, also noting that she didn't seem to realize who he was. He doubted even a full second passed before he got a response. 'intresting'

"Attention span issues, or lying to your girl about hitting on a stranger?" Sissi finally snapped just as Odd was finishing his latest exchange with Ulrich, asking the other man what the heck was so interesting, and being told to string her along a bit in a cryptic response that ended in a winking emoticon, for whatever that was worth.

"Huh?" His gaze flicked back up to meet her eyes, a slight blush crossing his features as she made it clear what her take on the situation was. She didn't realize who he was at all, then. On top of which she thought he had stopped at her table to try hitting on her, "Ah, no...I'm texting a friend. He was supposed to pick me up...guess he's late."

It only took a moment of wondering before he began to piece together why she hadn't realized who he was. His hair, now cropped rather short, was hidden under his knit cap and his mismatched eyes concealed by his shades. As for the rest of him, well, people do change over the course of time, and his once svelte frame, or scrawny as she might have called it, had added some lean, wiry muscles to it. He wasn't huge or anything, in fact the whole memo about late teen growth spurts in males seemed to have missed his body, but he was still taller than he had once been, probably taller than Sissi if she happened to have flats on. And his once vibrantly violet wardrobe had been toned down some, now more of a black and dark purple dominated style that held hints of his former passion for violet. And of course there was the fact that he hadn't shaved...no way would she realize it was him with the bit of blond stubble dusting his face.

"Oh?" Sissi arched her brow at his response, noting that it seemed hesitant. Somehow it didn't ring of complete truth, but she didn't know the guy, so she didn't give it too much was probably texting a girl, and just didn't want to ruin whatever chance he thought he had with her.

"Yeah…" Odd's mind was scrambling as he tried to figure out just what Ulrich was up to. Why invite Sissi to the wedding, it wasn't like they were great friends. She'd been accepted into their group eventually, sure, but had always been more on the fringe of the team, which she still seemed a bit upset about. Maybe that was what the invitation thing was about, trying to make peace. But why send her to the airport and tell him to play mind games if that was the case? And what exactly was he supposed to say to keep conversation flowing without giving away who he was? "So...you must have had it bad for this guy, huh?"

"Hmm?" For only a moment the dark haired girl seemed confused before realizing that he was referring back to an earlier rant, one she now wished she had kept to herself, "I guess...not that he cared. It was all I could do to even get noticed by him or his friends…even after years of trying!"

"Years?" Odd pretended not to already know that tidbit, "Seems like a long time to waste on a guy who doesn't like you...there wasn't anyone else?"

Sissi closed her eyes, canting her head with a slight puff of laughter, "Heh, if there was, he would be even less likely that Ulrich to ever like me…"

That made it sound like more than just a hypothetical scenario, which earned a raised brow from the blond. He only knew about Sissi's crush on Ulrich, and Herve had obviously been in love with Sissi...who on earth else could the princess of Kadic have crushed on?

"Really? I mean, there must have been guys wanting to date you…" He surprised himself with how curious he was about who this other guy she had liked might be.

"Oh, sure," With a sigh the young woman waved her hand dismissively, "I had a few that would have been my personal footstool if I asked them too. But where's the fun in that? Being worshipped is fine, but it's not love…"

"Ah…" He gave a slow nod as he absorbed the new information. That would rule out Herve then, "So, why are you so sure this guy wouldn't have liked you anyway?"

"Geez, you really are nosey!" She looked him up and down, once more trying to ascertain whether she knew this man. If she didn't, and wouldn't plan on ever seeing him again, there was no harm in sharing her little secrets, she supposed. He just seemed like a curious stranger, harmless enough. Sissi sighed and shrugged slightly, "Well, it's pretty obvious when he makes an active effort to kiss every girl in the class except you."

At this, the man across the table from her froze, his hands gripping the edge of the round dining surface, "H-he...what?"

Well, that was an interesting reaction...and the way his voice suddenly seemed to pick up an elevated pitch added a strange touch of familiarity to his previously unrecognizable presence. An elegant brow arched higher over her eye as she repeated herself, "He kissed all the girls in our class except me...well, and his cousin, but that would have been disgusting."

"Eh...heheh…" Nervous laughter suddenly trickled from Odd's lips. With that little detail, there was absolutely no doubt who her mystery crush was. He knew of one guy that fit that description...and that would be himself. His cheeks flushed brightly as his fingers drummed nervously on the edge of the table, "I-is that so…?"

"Oh good grief!" Sissi suddenly snapped, misinterpreting the reaction, "I am so not hinting that I want you to kiss me or anything! I don't even know you! Ew!"

"Ah...funny thing about that, actually…Sissi..." Odd was looking anywhere but at the beautiful girl in front of him as his words caused her to stop in the middle of her attempt to stand and leave in disgust. She really was beautiful, he'd always suggested otherwise, but it was hard to ignore the truth, especially with her new maturity. His heart was thumping in his chest as he gulped down the suddenly forming lump in his throat. This wasn't going to have a good outcome...for anyone. Sissi would kill Odd, and then he would come back and haunt Ulrich in the most horrible way.

Returning to her seat, Sissi narrowed her eyes at young man who was rapidly growing more nervous. He knew her name, but she was pretty sure she hadn't introduced herself...and he'd just implied they knew each other and...oh God! A knot twisted in her stomach as she paled. This wasn't happening! She'd thought the day couldn't get any worse, but apparently she'd just inadvertently revealed that she had crushed on Odd to Odd! And he would, of course, hold it over her head for ever! As color suddenly rushed back to her face in the form of a deep red crimson, she threw up her hands to cover the blush and muffle a soft scream of rage and embarrassment, "I don't believe it!"

"Uh...surprise?" Odd timidly tried to break the tension with a crooked attempt at his cocky grin, causing her to peek at him through her fingers. When she began to tremble, he wasn't certain what might happen next. Either she would burst into tears or outrage….or she'd go completely nuts and start laughing. None of those options really appealed, but if he had to choose, rage was probably best. At least that he could probably handle, "Sissi?"

"Why would you….you…" Her voice wasn't vengeful, nor was it tearful or broken by mad laughter. It seemed cool, almost cold, a bit broken and hurt. Odd wasn't sure exactly what this meant, but he didn't like it, it made his chest ache, and his stomach clench. He looked away, though his peripheral vision remained on her, "I...its...y-you still hate me that much?"

"Wait...what?" That caught him off guard. She should be angry for him for tricking her into spilling her secrets, that was the most reasonable reaction, right? But here she accused him of still hating her? His eyes snapped back towards her, "Geez, I wasn't expecting you to get all sentimental when I came over or anything! And...I never actually hated you...not really...maybe disliked…"

A harsh look from Sissi told him he had said too much, and his voice petered out as her trembling to to resolute pride, "Really? You still should have told me it was you, Odd Della Robia! And it sure seemed like hate to me! You and Ulrich and...and all your little friends! That's why-"

A look of sudden realization dawned on Sissi's features, which confused Odd, before swiftly shifting to simmering wrath, "That...that Ulrich! And Yumi too, I bet! And you! You all set me up! That's why I'm the errand girl!"

"Hey, I didn't know about any of this!" Odd quickly defended himself, holding his hands in front of him to emphasize his point, "I thought Ulrich would pick me up! He told me when I got here that he had a surprise and it was in the cafe and…"

Sissi didn't seem to take any comfort in this fact, as she stood up and took off in a heated pace toward the cafe's exit. It took the blond a moment to process that she was moving, as he was still making sense of things himself. When he noticed she was leaving, though, he was up and after her in a flash, "Hey! Sissi, wait up, would ya!"

The woman made a deliberate point of ignoring the shouts that she could obviously hear. Everyone else in the cafe, and in the terminal beyond, was starting to look their way. A scene was not what she wanted at the moment, and she quickened her pace, hoping he would get the hint and just let her leave!

Of course, there was no such luck with Odd Della Robia, who continued to chase after her even as she tried to disappear into the crowded airport lobby. She could hear his shouts drawing closer as she progressed toward the front door, to freedom and relief from the chaos swirling in her head. She felt like screaming, and crying, and maybe even laughing...but she wouldn't do so here. She had her pride! Those things would wait until she was alone in her car, pulled off to the side of the road away from prying eyes.

"I said wait!" Suddenly Odd's grip locked around her elbow, pulling her back in an attempt to stop her, her precious escape still feet away. A few deep breaths were drawn by the man as he caught his breath, at the same time using his grip on her elbow to turn her to face him, "Man, you're hard to catch!"

"That's the point, stupid!" She growled out, trying to pull free, but to no avail. She could feel the sting of traitorous tears, which she turned her face away to hide, "Now let me go! I'm not Ulrich's errand girl, and I sure as heck am not accepting that sham invitation to his wedding! Find another ride!"

"Fine, just…" Odd didn't let her go, he wanted to make sure she heard what he had to say first, and he knew releasing her would allow her to leave too soon, "Look, I didn't...I mean it...its not like I didn't want...geez, this is hard!"

Knowing that she wasn't going to be able to wrench free of his grip, Sissi resigned herself to glaring at the floor as he stumbled words. She made no effort to encourage him or urge him to spit it out, she was done fighting. Let him add his insult to the injury she'd received already, and then she could hopefully go in peace. Tears shimmered unshed in her eyes, her breathing hard as she tried to will them away.

"Okay, one more try…" Odd was murmuring more to himself than her as he tried to build the courage to just say what he needed and wanted to. With a sigh he pushed forward, "I kinda thought...you'd try to kill me if I ever kissed you...and you acted like you hated me, so I thought you did! I wasn't gonna force a kiss on a girl who couldn't even stand me!"

At first, Sissi tried to block out what she was certain had been an insult. Slowly though, the actual words began to filter into her mind, causing her to blink as she slowly lifted her face to look at him with utter confusion. A few stray tears managed to slip down her cheeks against her will, "Huh?"

"Oh come on..." Odd released her elbow and pulled off his knit cap, ruffling a hand through his hair in slight frustration as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "Don't make me say it again...that was hard enough..."

"No...y-you don't have to repeat it...I just…" The young woman shifted slightly as she glanced at his newly revealed hair, a short mussed look with a tuft of violet that stood out in the front. Quickly, though, her dark gaze darted to the side, "I'm not sure...what...what are you-"

Odd let out a slightly frustrated noise as she mumbled through her words. She was looking for further clarification, he could see that. But this was awkward! He just found out that the girl he thought hated him, a girl that, just maybe, he was very glad to learn didn't hate him, actually liked him! As in, had a crush on him! Well, she used to anyway. In a soft and embarrassed voice he cut her off, "I didn't not kiss you because I hated you, okay? I just didn't want to be a jerk about something like that…"

A scoff was the response he got, earning a surprised look at Sissi as she shook her head at him, still not making eye contact, "So, instead you make a point of letting everyone know you didn't kiss me?"

"Hey! I would have thought it would be a relief! I thought you hated me, remember!" His anger was beginning to rise again now as she turned every effort he made to explain seem like another attempt at an insult, "It's not like you every said you wanted a kiss!"

"Well, maybe I do want one!" Sissi snapped back at him, glaring into her own image reflected by his sunglasses a moment before realizing what she'd said, blushing and quickly turning away in a whirl of dark hair, "Did...I did want one...but, it's too late. Let's just go...I'll take you to Ulrich's apartment, you're crashing there tonight, right?"

"Wait, what?" Odd felt like he'd been saying that a lot during this encounter, his eyes incredibly wide behind his shades as he tried to figure out if he really heard her right. Her flustered attempt at an exit was pretty much proof though, "Oh no you don't!"

Again he reached out, grabbing her by the shoulder this time as he turned her to face him again. Her eyes widened as she gasped at his reaction, expression a mix of confusion, worry and a touch of hope, "Odd, what ar-"

Her inquiry was cut short, however as his lips connected with hers in a swift, fluid motion. Sissi stiffened in shock, squeaking into the kiss. When it wasn't over as soon as it began, her head started swimming with a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings, causing her to dizzily lean against Odd for support, her fingers gripping the fabric of the black and purple t-shirt that he wore. Her dark eyes slipped shut, and she was sure when she opened them, she'd find the entire thing had been a dream. Not wanting to risk it, she kept them closed, even as she felt his lips pull away, the warm breath of a soft laugh brushing her cheek.

"There, that makes up for it a bit, I guess…" Odd murmured, removing his sunglasses so his mismatched eyes could gaze at the woman directly. He couldn't help the slight smirk that found its way to his lips as he noticed how perfectly still she remained. Her hands still grasping his shirt, eyes shut, it looked as though she was scarcely breathing, "I should have known you'd want more…"

With a bright blush Sissi came to her senses, realizing that what had happened was very much real. Her eyes snapped open and turned a glare on him as she prepared to berate him for messing around with her feelings. Instead she blinked in surprise as she witnessed the look he was giving her. The smirk, which in their school days had always held a mocking air, seemed somewhat tender, and his eyes were gentle now that they had been revealed.

"D-don't think...you're off the hook yet…" The woman finally managed to tear her gaze away as she tried to give a clever retort, folding her arms over her chest, "You and Ulrich...y-you're in so much trouble…"

"Hmm…" Odd canted his head to the side as he grinned at her with a wink, "That might not be so bad as long as you're going to be the one punishing me."

And if Sissi had thought her face couldn't get any brighter, she was wrong. Apparently her unintentional confession had brought out a pervert in her former schoolmate! She whirled away again, "Shut up! I'm taking you to Ulrich's!"

"Okay, okay…" Odd smirked as he reached back to pull his suitcase after them. Unfortunately, his hand closed on air, "Oh, man! I left it in the cafe!"

"What?" His ride chanced a glance over her shoulder to see what he was talking about, only to find him turning to head further into the terminal, "Odd!"

"Hey, don't leave without me, 'kay? I need to grab my suitcase!" He called over his shoulder at her, moving as quickly as he could to limit the amount of time that was left for her chicken out and leave him behind. Of course, she didn't really intend to do that, but he had no way of knowing that.

As he weaved through the crowd toward the cafe, he pulled out his cell, exchanging a quick series of texts with Ulrich.

'howd u no'

'no wut'

'bout sissi'

'u kep askin bout her'

'huh'

'didn u want 2 c her'

'didn say tht. howd u no she liked me'

'w8 wut'

'thts wht i said.'

'wut happen'

'i dun kiss n tell'

'huh!'

' ;) '

Any further texts from Ulrich went unnoticed as Odd raced back to Sissi as quickly as possible with his luggage in tow. Sure enough she was waiting for him by the door to the parking lot, her car keys in hand as she impatiently tapped her foot on the sidewalk. As soon as he saw her, a wide grin broke over his features, "You actually waited!"

"I should have made you walk," She huffed and turned up her nose as she started towards her car.

"So, since you said your invite was a sham," The blond started, noting the sudden change in stride that meant Sissi was probably upset by that statement before hurrying to finish, "I guess that means I'll have to take you as a date instead!"

The woman froze with her hand on the handle to her car's door, eyes wide with shock. Slowly she shifted to face him, unsure of what to feel. On one hand she wanted to scream at him, certain he was making fun of her. On the other, she wanted to hug him and kiss him again on the off chance he was serious, "Don't you play with my feelings, Odd Della Robbia…"

"Who's playing?" The man grinned, taking the opportunity to open her door for her as a gentleman would, "You still like me, right? And I must be crazy enough to have at least some interest, or I wouldn't have chased you through the airport, heh!"

Staring at him in disbelief at the backhanded compliment, Sissi's mouth opened and closed as she searched for a reply, the end result looking like a fish. Fortunately, Odd was kind enough not to point that out. With a blush the dark haired woman finally slid into the driver's seat, pushing the button that would open the trunk for his luggage as she did so, "Don't be stupid, Odd. You're the best man, you'll have a built in date!"

"Alright, then," Odd shrugged, stowing his suitcase in the trunk and slamming it shut before circling to the passengers side, opening his door and climbing in. Once he was securely buckled in and they were ready to depart, he finally finished his thought, "If you can't be my date to the wedding, then we'll have to go out some other time!"

Sissi almost wrecked into the car behind her as her foot pressed too hard on the gas at his comment. Thankfully, she recovered in time to prevent an accident, shifted into drive, and proceeded out of the parking lot, hoping he would keep his mouth shut on the way to Ulrich's apartment. Just in case, though, she added a bargaining chip, "Fine, but keep quiet while I'm driving!"

"Sure thing!" The strange young man grinned at her, folding his hands behind his head as he leaned back in the seat, closing his eyes, "I don't feel like being in a crash anyway!"


End file.
